Louis was born on November 2, 1910, in a small village in the area of Haute-Savoie, France, as the 3rd out of 4 children to Joseph Marie and Marie Julie Favre who were farmers.
During WWI, his father was killed on the front.
He was educated from youth in the towns of Bellevaux and Ville-la-Grand with the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales. He then continued his religious studies and novitiate at Freiburg, Switzerland. He had a love of art and music with a passion for teaching.
At the age of 22, he carried out his military service by entering the nurse’s section. Within a year he rose through the ranks up to the position of sergeant before being sent back home.
He completed his religious training, took his perpetual vows, and was ordained by the age of 26. He was assigned as supervisor to the Florimont Institute in Switzerland but was recalled to the French army in 1939 when war was inevitable. He was assigned to the nurse’s section but demobilized a year later.
The Germans occupied France in June 1940, and the country was divided between the occupied zone and the “Free Zone” ruled by the Capital City Vichy fascist government, and the French police, who were ruthless and collaborated with the Nazis.
The border with Switzerland was closed and so he taught at the Salesian Catholic School in Ville-la-Grand, France. The school’s garden wall bordered Geneva, Switzerland.
Towards the end of 1941, there was anti-Catholic sentiment and much of the wealth and belongings of those families were seized by the Nazi party. The Dutch, who had managed to flee their invaded country, came to the closed border. Fr Favre assisted them with crossing the school wall. They were followed by downed Allied pilots, resistance fighters who had been discovered, and Jewish refugees. In addition, he began passing documents and information back and forth as part of the French resistance and Swiss Intelligence requiring frequent trips to Geneva.
His colleagues were very wary of this risky activity but were quickly won over by the Grace of Charity that drove the young priest. With thanks to the involvement of the priests and brothers, they became one of the main centers of resistance for the entire region and 2,000 people were saved through his network.
It is on one of his trips that he was spotted by the Gestapo. On February 3, 1944, Nazi troops entered the school, and they beat the other priests to give up names. Fr Favre surrendered, and he was imprisoned for 6 months. He was repeatedly tortured but did not give up information. Still, even after having been beaten, he cared and comforted the other prisoners, while managing to smuggle out 17 messages to the agencies. He was then taken to a clearing and shot on July 16, 1944, 1 month before the city was liberated.
He was posthumously awarded the Legion of Honor, the War Cross, and the Resistance Medal.
For God’s Glory.
The School Wall –
